This is the view of some Caribbean islands from our airplane. Isn't it beautiful. We were so excited to get to St Lucia!
We found out after we arrived at the airport that our hotel was on the opposite side of the island. It was a 1 1/2 hour drive to get there. Ugh!
They drive on the right side of the car in St Lucia. I'm glad we didn't rent a car because I never got used to it!
Once, a tourist told our guide, "Hey, the steering wheel's on the wrong side." To which our guide replied, "Wrong side, but everything we do here is right!" It was funny.
This was the view from our hotel room patio. We stayed at the Sandals Grande St Lucian. The water in the pools and the ocean was so warm!
This is our room. Not very fancy or new considering the price, but we had several people tell us that it is one of the nicest resorts on the entire island. Trying to keep it clean for you; we couldn't even roll over in bed without it sounding like we were going to crash to the floor.
This is a storm that was brewing on the horizon. We could see the rain falling, but it blew over without hitting our side of the beach. The rain would come down in sheets when it fell, but blow over within a few minutes. It was just enough rain to make the air muggy and my hair frizzy.
We went zip lining through the rain forest. There were 11 zip lines in all. Super fun!
The outfits were pretty hot, too!
This is a cocoa pod. They call the seeds "jungle M&Ms." They tasted pretty gross, but it was interesting to learn about. Bananas are the main crop on the island. They are so sweet and delicious. Problem is that St Lucia only exports their bananas to the UK, so no one in the US can partake of their deliciousness! Bummer! I made sure to eat at least one banana every day while I was there.
Here is a view off the side of the road. This scene was used in the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean. The pirates hung skeletons from the arch.
This is the actual Black Pearl from the movie. Producers saw it and rented it for the movie. It's actually named the Unicorn and is a dinner and a show ship.
This is me and Jas getting ready to Mtn Bike through the rain forest. Beautiful scenery, but it was SO HOT and MUGGY. We were drenched with sweat within minutes!
At the end of our ride, we got to play in the waterfall. Isn't it beautiful!
The next day, we thought we'd try some water sports at our resort. Kayaking was hard because the wind and the current kept pushing us so far to the right. It got tiring real fast.
So we decided to use the wind to our advantage and parasail!
The guide showed Jason how to flip upside down, so he of course had to try it. Clown! And yes, he got motion sick from the whole ride!
On Tuesday, we sailed on a catamaran to Soufriere. It's a town on the other side of the island that is on a live volcano. The whole place smelled strong of sulfur. They say it's really good for your skin, joints, and sinuses.
The water in the river running off of the volcano is dark grey, like lead, from all the minerals. Strange!
This is a waterfall in the botanical gardens below the volcano. Again, the rocks and water are different colors from all the minerals. It reminded me of Yellowstone, with a rainforest setting.
This is the town of Soufriere from the balcony of the restaurant where we had lunch. From this view it looks cool, but it is really a super poor town of shacks and rubble. It's always humbling to see how other people live. It makes me really appreciate my blessings!
The Piton mountains are in the distance.
Finally, this is the view from our room the morning we left. Rain, rain, mugginess, and rain. It was a good day to come home!
St Lucia was beautiful and I'm glad I had the experience, but I wouldn't go back. Jason and I had a wonderful nine days together to celebrate our anniversary.
Since a queen size bed= new bedding, I decided to paint her room different colors. Ones that will grow with her.
Base colors: brown, pink, an white
then- tape, tape, tape
Hannah and I were doing this project while the boys were at scout camp. This pic was taken around midnight. Things are always much more fun the later it is.
Who decided to put a beam around her walls? Oh, me. 
After I painted the white, I removed a piece of tape where the brown paint would be. Then I let it dry for two days. I taped over the white stripe so I could paint the brown.
Again with the dang beams! It got very tricky.
Hannah even pitched in and helped tape. After struggling with one piece for 5 minutes, she decided that taping wasn't fun.
Taylor came in and gave us some comic relief.
I sure missed these boys while they were gone to camp.
I think they missed us, too.
Finally, around 10 P.M., I was ready to paint the brown.
Brown covers really nicely and I decided I was only doing one coat instead of two.
I removed the tape, and tad-a! 
Now, I will tea stain the stripes, and we'll be done. Furniture is ready for delivery. I will post the final product when it's done.
